


Can't Say No

by ReaderJane



Category: Stephanie Plum - Evanovich
Genre: F/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-02-04
Updated: 2007-02-04
Packaged: 2017-10-06 10:19:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaderJane/pseuds/ReaderJane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a woman Ranger can't refuse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can't Say No

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: post-series  
> Disclaimer: it's all Janet's, except for Good Enough, which belongs to Evanescence

Carlos pulled onto the final stretch of turnpike. Three weeks. He'd never been gone from home so long before. Everything at home was all right. Tank would have signalled if there was trouble in Trenton. Still, it would be satisfying to tell Stephanie this had been the last time. No more late-night calls followed by long absences. No more communications blackouts.

  
_Under your spell again.  
I can't say no to you.  
Crave my heart and it's bleeding in your hand.  
I can't say no to you._   


She was good about not asking him to stay home. That was one of the things that made her special; she understood the difference between inconvenience and necessity. She could twist him around her little finger and she knew it. The way she reserved that power set her apart.

  
_Shouldn't have let you torture me so sweetly.  
Now I can't let go of this dream.  
I can't breathe but I feel..._   


The mile markers flickered past. Carlos knew he was almost home when gridlock made him slow to a crawl. Patience. Soon he would see her blue eyes light up, feel her arms wrap around his neck and her quick heartbeat against his chest.

  
_Good enough,  
I feel good enough for you._   


Tank liked to laugh at him. He'd say, Carlos was whipped by a pint-sized ball of energy with curly brown hair. There was a time Carlos would have kicked Tank's ass for saying so. Now he just smiled. Somehow, smiles came easier now.

  
_Drink up sweet decadence.  
I can't say no to you,  
And I've completely lost myself, and I don't mind.  
I can't say no to you._   


He pulled his truck onto the quiet street. Quiet or not, there was a RangeMan vehicle parked a few doors from his house as always. Protection for the Manosos was a regular line item now, and it was worth every penny.

  
_Shouldn't let you conquer me completely.  
Now I can't let go of this dream.  
Can't believe that I feel..._   


Almost before he'd swung his tired feet from the truck, the front door burst open and a bundle of arms and legs vaulted from the porch. Carlos caught her in midair. The impact rocked him back on his heels. She felt heavier than she had three weeks ago.

"Daddy!" His daughter wrapped her legs around his waist, pounding his shoulder with one hand while she gripped his collar with the other.

Carlos closed his eyes and breathed in her watermelon-scented shampoo. Then he pulled his head back and assumed a stern expression.

"What did we agree about being aware?"

Mariela rolled her eyes. "No one on the sidewalk all the way to the next street," she recited. "Mrs. Kreswik is sitting on her porch watching us. There's a strange bicycle on Jimmy Ramone's front walk, but it belongs to Jimmy's friend Scooter. And Uncle Hal is in the Bronco right over there." Her eyes sparkled. "I told him he'd look less conspicuous if he wore a Hawaiian shirt."

He tried without success to hide a smile. "That was mean."

She giggled. "I know."

Carlos hugged her again, feeling the old familiar twinge. He'd never had this with Julie. There had been years when he'd have said he didn't deserve to have this with anyone. Put it away. Julie had had Ron Martine, and no bodyguards. It was enough.

  
_Good enough,  
I feel good enough.  
It's been such a long time coming, but I feel good._   


Quick footsteps sounded inside the house. Stephanie, angry. Carlos raised an eyebrow at his daughter.

"Daddy, can we go get ice cream?" she asked quickly. "Mom's on the warpath."

His wife stepped through the open doorway. "Do you know what she did?" she demanded without preamble.

Carlos took the stairs two at a time, shifting his daughter onto his hip so he could use his other arm to gather Stephanie to his side.

"Glad to see you, too." He grabbed a quick kiss while his daughter clutched her throat and made gagging sounds.

  
_And I'm still waiting for the rain to fall.  
Pour real life down on me.  
'Cause I can't hold on to anything this good enough.  
Am I good enough for you to love me too?_   


"You need to talk with your daughter about Mrs. Kreswik's cat." Stephanie shot an exasperated glare at the girl in Carlos' arms.

"I'll talk to her," he promised. Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Right now," he insisted. "We're going to have a serious talk right now."

"With ice cream," piped Mariela.

Carlos set his daughter down and scooted her toward his truck. He shared a longer kiss with Stephanie, one that promised more once their dynamo was asleep. Watching Mariela clamber over the console he wondered, not for the first time, whether there was a creature in the universe more powerful than a warrior's daughter.

  
_So take care what you ask of me,  
'cause I can't say no._   



End file.
